Beat the Recession - Become an English Teacher!

1Beat the Recession - Become an English Teacher! With the recession still causing rising unemployment and increased redundancies many people are looking at going back into education as a way of biding their time until we experience prosperous times once again.However, going back to school isn't the only way of beating the recession and it certainly isn't the best financially. Instead, more and more people are using it, almost as an excuse, to do something they had always dreamed about- teaching English abroad.The developing world hasn't experienced the recession as harshly as the developed world has and the demand for native English teachers is far from decreasing- it is actually increasing ahead of projections. Most English teachers earn at least a salary that allows them to live comfortably and travel around the country they are in, yet jobs in more and more countries actually pay more than many people could earn at home- especially when the lower cost of living is taken into account.Take Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam. Having just left there after a year teaching English I was able to live comfortably and leave with my bank balance looking a hell of a lot better than I had started with. The minimum pay most jobs offer is $20 per hour, with $25 per hour being an average ball park salary. With rent for a furnished two bed apartment being around $300, a good meal out never being more than $5 and a beer being less than a dollar, I struggled to spend more than a week's salary in a month.But excellent wages and job security aren't the only reasons people are emigrating abroad to teach English. Below are a few more reasons teachers have found themselves leaving the recession-struck world for better opportunities abroad.Doing something meaningful- After fifty years of charity concerts, public appeals and pictures of gaunt emaciated kids provoking us into guiltily chucking a dollar into a collection tin people are understandably fed up of giving to charity when global poverty is only getting worse. Many teachers have taken the recession as an opportunity to teach English in third world countries, living on a local wage in a sometimes remote area to make a difference on a grass-roots level. It can be hard work but many wouldn't change it for the world, insisting that being on such a local level actually makes a difference to those who need it most.Resume building- currently employment prospects look grim for college graduates, with recent figures suggesting 70 applicants for every graduate job. Teaching English abroad is an excellent resume builder which interviewers just love! It gives you something to talk about, demonstrates a myriad of skills and puts you above the 69 other applicants out there!Escaping the rat race- extortionate bonuses for bank executives coupled with mass redundancies haven't done much for the morale of millions of workers out there in soul-destroying 9 to 5 dead-end jobs.Teaching English gives you the opportunity to choose your working hours and do something which is both personally fulfilling and meaningful. No longer do you have a jack-ass boss droning on about targets and productivity- instead, you have a classroom of bright-eyed students, eager to learn and hanging on to your every word!Meeting amazing people- No matter where you go, teachers meet some amazing people. In my teaching career I've taught officials from the Ministry of Justice in Vietnam; nomadic subsistence farmers in Malawi; Iraqi refugees in Syria and the regional head of the UN Development Agency! But your students don't have to be this diverse to be incredibly interesting to talk to- every one has their story of why they are there and come from some pretty incredible and diverse backgrounds!Live abroad in any country- English is the international language and everyone wants (and needs) to learn it. This gives teachers a unique opportunity, allowing them to living practically anywhere: like surfing? Teach in Indonesia. Party animal? Teach in Brazil. In love with age old cultures and religions? Teach in India. Like metropolitan cities and perfect organisation? Teach in Korea. You get idea: the world is literally your oyster!These are only a few of the many reasons so many people have taken a year out (or more!) to live abroad and teach English. So, do something different, take the plunge and become an English teacher. For more information on this life-changing opportunity visit my website at Become an English Teacher today!